London in Chains (An English Civil War Novel, 1) - Hardcover

Gillian Bradshaw's father, an American Associated Press newsman, met her mother, a confidential secretary for the British embassy, in Rio de Janeiro. She was born in Washington DC in 1956, the second of four children. They didn't move around quite as much as one might expect after such a beginning: Washington was followed merely by Santiago, Chile, and two locations in Michigan. Gillian attended the University of Michigan, where she earned her BA in English and another in Classical Greek, and won the Hopwood Prize for fiction with her first novel, ""Hawk of May,"" She went on to get another degree at Newnham College, Cambridge University, England in Greek and Latin literature, and she sold her first novel while preparing for exams.
She decided to stay in Cambridge another year to write another novel and think about what to do for a Real Job. However, while there, she discovered she could live on her income as a novelist and also met her husband, who was completing his doctorate in physics. Between books and children she never did get a Real Job, and she's been writing novels ever since.
She and her husband now live in Coventry. They have four children and a dog.

Bradshaw's latest historical romance is set during the English Civil War in the mid-seventeenth century. Lucy Wentnor has fled her father's home after being raped by soldiers and then rejected by her fiancé. Arriving in London, she throws herself on the mercy of her aunt and uncle. Although her uncle is sympathetic, her aunt is the opposite. So when Lucy is offered the chance to help out in a print shop, she takes it, eager to escape her aunt. She soon learns that the printing press is unlicensed and what is being printed is considered seditious (reports on plots against the exiled king Charles, tirades against Parliament, and diatribes against the corrupt army). But Lucy is undaunted. Then the print-shop owner is arrested, and Lucy must run things single-handedly. Bolstered by her newfound independence and self-confidence, she falls in love. But disaster strikes. Is Lucy strong enough to overcome this latest obstacle? An enjoyable historical romance featuring vivid characters, a lively and entertaining plot, authentic period details, the excitement and tragedy of war, and a heartwarming ending. Recommended for all collections. --Booklist, 1st October 2009